I will be visiting Mauritius with my wife and 4 year old daughter during the second half of May. At that time of the year would it be better for us to look into accommodation on the West side of the island or is the East side still OK particularly when it comes to SCUBA diving (and frolicking in the ocean for our daughter)? I heard that the sea on the East coast can become very rough and much colder around that time even though most dive operators seem to be open all year round regardless of their location. Anyone's impartial recommendation would be most welcome.

I used to live on the east coast and it does feel marginally colder from the month of may until september due to to the prevailing winds which blow from an easterly direction. The west coast is more sheltered and the temperatures could be a couple of degrees warmer. As far as the diving is concerned, it should not make any great difference other than the sea might be more "choppy" and rougher on the east coast but for your daughter's enjoyment, I would recommend the west coast ie: Grand Bay, Le Morne or Flic en Flac areas. Please refer to the link above for more details of the weather in may.
Have a nice holiday,
Gerard

I used to live on the east coast and it does feel marginally colder there from the month of may until september due to to the prevailing winds which blow from an easterly direction. The west coast is more sheltered and the temperatures could be a couple of degrees warmer. As far as the diving is concerned, it should not make any great difference other than the sea might be more "choppy" and rougher on the east coast but for your daughter's enjoyment, I would recommend the west coast ie: Grand Bay, Le Morne or Flic en Flac areas. Please refer to the link above for more details of the weather on the island in may.
Have a nice holiday,
Gerard

Well the West is fairly dry and less windy and some places like Grand Baie (which is the tourist capital of Mauritius) offer some very good night life. You will feel at ease with other tourists around you perhaps?

Le Morne is great as well if you prefer a little bit of peace of mind and meditation.

The advantage of living in the West worth mentioning (although it may sound stupid) is that you're less than an hour drive from Port-Louis, our capital with all its facilities and shopping premises.

all my mauritian holidays, I spent on the west-coast in the Maritim-Hotel.
Every time, I went to the east-coast, it looked like that. This photo was taken on the beach of Bel Mare.
When you look around the photoes in the gallery you will find more of the "stormy" ones.
I myself would prefere the west-coast, because it is more sheltered at that time of the year.

hope to help a little bit.
ewa

p.s. I took the photo because it looked so different from the west-coast, and not because it was unusual

I've dived on the east coast for about 2 months in june-july, it isn't as bad as those pictures make you think, that was probably during an anti-cyclone. Also dived 2 months on the south coast, and did some dives in the north and the west.

Don't worry to much about the weather (with exception of the South, don't go there around July). Rather think about what you want to see?

For me the South is fantastic! You get to see sharks (including bullsharks if you're lucky @ Pass St-Jacques), huge rays, colorfull fish and the divesites are fairly attractive, meaning there is nice coral with anemones and nudiebranches if you also like some smaller stuff.
The east isn't that good, divesites are nice, not great. Coral is ok, but you don't get to see lots of fish, small or big, still enough to be ok though.
The north is fantastic if you like alot of (small) colorfull fish, beautifull coral and always want to have a good vis. (+-30m since the north is protected from currents)
The west is a bit less then the north but still better then the south/east if you like small fishes and lots of colorfull coral.

If you like to dive on some wrecks the north and west are also the best startingplaces.